Paper Wasps nest by the front porch

[vinny11950]

For the last 3 summers, a nice team of paper wasps has appeared in the front porch. It starts off as just a few but by August, it is a hive of 30 or 40. They got in through a gap between the soffit and a post. I always hoped they would go away on their own and not reappear over the summer, but that didn't happen.

So yesterday, when it was cold and windy, I decided to open up the soffit and see what was happening (you have to do this in winter or they will come after you).



I thought the nest was empty until I knocked it down and found 2 wasps (young queens I guess). I gave them a quick death and felt bad about it, being they had never done anything to me.



It was just a nuisance having a big swarm by the front door for 3 months of the year. But it was also cool watching them work in the garden and watching them regulate the temperature of the nest on the hottest days of the year by leaving the nest at night. Hopefully other queens survived somewhere else.

 

[Ashful]

Cool that you can see where they put an addition on their crib last summer. The needs of a growing family, I guess.

 

[vinny11950]

Cool that you can see where they put an addition on their crib last summer. The needs of a growing family, I guess.

Yeah, good point, I guess the number would have grown over time.

 

[maple1]

I get rid of those things as soon as I see one anywhere on or near the house - the earlier the better. No bad feelings afterwards either - the survivors should get the message to build somewhere else if they go through it enough times.

One year, late in the fall, I noticed the HRV didn't seem to be moving air like it should. I discovered the 6" outlet pipe had about 2' of wasp nest in it, just inside the outlet vent. That was interesting....

 

[Ashful]

Two summers ago, we kept finding random wasps in our master bedroom and bath. Couldn't figure out where they were coming in, and they were never anywhere but those rooms. Almost laid down on one a few times at night, since they'd like to camp out on my pillow.

Spent some time investigating around the outside of the house, and found a nest in a slight crevace that had opened up between a second story window casing and the stucco. Dunno how they were getting from that wall cavity into the interior of the house, but I could easily see them coming and going on the outside. That ended up being a job where I called in pros, since I wasn't about to do battle with a large wasps nest at the top of a ladder, and wanted to end the almost-daily routine of finding them in my bed and carpet.

 

[jatoxico]

It's has slowed a bit but I was getting them all over too. Getting into the house through bathroom vents, into the siding and gutters, the BBQ the wheel well of my beater Jeep... PITA. Pretty docile though not like the yellow jackets that have come around. One nest of those SOB's found a crack in the foundation then into the basement.

 

[vinny11950]

It's has slowed a bit but I was getting them all over too. Getting into the house through bathroom vents, into the siding and gutters, the BBQ the wheel well of my beater Jeep... PITA. Pretty docile though not like the yellow jackets that have come around. One nest of those SOB's found a crack in the foundation then into the basement.

Amazing how they fit into the tiny spaces. I have some spare Jeep wheels in the backyard where they like building little nests. Them getting into the siding is the worst.